Looting adds to Illinois city's struggle

Wednesday

Nov 20, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 20, 2013 at 3:30 PM

WASHINGTON, Ill. - Residents of a central Illinois city hit by a powerful tornado worked feverishly yesterday to salvage belongings from the rubble of their homes as an over-burdened police force tried to stop looting. Authorities doubled to 1,000 their estimate of homes damaged or destroyed in Sunday's fast-moving storm that hit Washington, a town of 15,000 people 145 miles southwest of Chicago.

WASHINGTON, Ill. — Residents of a central Illinois city hit by a powerful tornado worked feverishly yesterday to salvage belongings from the rubble of their homes as an over-burdened police force tried to stop looting.

Authorities doubled to 1,000 their estimate of homes damaged or destroyed in Sunday’s fast-moving storm that hit Washington, a town of 15,000 people 145 miles southwest of Chicago. Winds reached 200 mph, and many houses were reduced to piles of sticks.

The storm system triggered tornadoes across the Midwest, killing at least six people in Illinois and two in Michigan. The cost of damage is estimated at $1 billion.

Roads into and out of Washington were clogged yesterday with pickup trucks, which residents filled with whatever they could salvage. The sound of chain saws cutting through fallen trees could be heard everywhere. Incidents of looting, and the threat of rain today, added urgency to the task.

Homeowner Ken Dunston said a truck had pulled up outside his home, and the occupants made off with a pile of his furniture.

“They’re stealing everything they can,” Dunston said. “The next time they come through here, I’l l grab hold of them and call the police.”

Washington police commander Greg Gordon said looters pose a huge challenge for the local force, which has been augmented by officers from nearby Peoria, a much-larger city, and state police officers.

Diana Wara, 50, a professional cook, was trying to get her recipes off the hard drive of her crushed computer. All that remained of her two-story home was its foundation. Her family’s four cars were destroyed, she said.

“My whole life is on that computer,” she said, struggling to hold back tears. “We’re all just lucky to be alive, and we’re going to rebuild.”

She already has talked to a builder, but in the meantime, her insurance company has put up her family in an apartment, she said.

Mike Bochart, 40, was in church when the storm hit, so he and his family stayed safe, but half of his home was destroyed. He was removing what he could yesterday.

“Everyone has been pitching in to help; this is a good town,” Bochart said. “It’s going to be a long road, but we will rebuild.”

The storm’s costliest damage was in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, according to Risk Management Solutions, a California company that specializes in assessing the toll of storms and other disasters.

November tornado outbreaks are relatively rare this far north — they are seen only about once every 10 years in this part of the Midwest, according to Greg Carbin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

Rebuilding from a November storm, as opposed to a spring storm, poses different challenges, said Terry Ruhland, spokesman for the Homebuilders Association of Greater Peoria.

One problem is that foundations that are solid now might be damaged by winter weather while homeowners wait for construction to begin, so foundations will need to be protected, Ruhland said.

“Do I think people will step up to the plate and make historic efforts? Absolutely,” Ruhland said. “But it will be very challenging due to the devastation, the weather conditions, and the volume of work needing to be done.”

Washington Mayor Gary Manier asked volunteers to stay away for now so that people can re-enter their homes.

But the town will need help later, he said. “We’re going to be here for quite a while, and we’re going to need assistance,” Manier said. “So please don’t forget about us.”

He said the town has had offers of help from as far away as Italy and the Philippines. The Asian country’s residents are struggling to recover from their own natural disaster, Typhoon Haiyan, which authorities estimate killed more than 3,900 people after roaring ashore on Nov. 8.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has declared 13 counties disaster areas.

Of the six people killed in Illinois, authorities said that one died in Washington and three in Brookport across the Ohio River from Kentucky. In Brookport, a tornado with winds up to 145 mph destroyed dozens of mobile homes and damaged dozens of houses, businesses, garages and storage buildings.

Two men died in Michigan in storm-related incidents.

Tornadoes also caused major damage in Indiana and lesser damage in Ohio, according to the weather service.

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